How to Choose an Addiction Treatment Program – The Recovery APGAR Score

When a baby is born, doctors do a quick assessment of its condition using what is known as an APGAR score. You can do a quick screening of treatment programs using our Recovery APGAR system, which rates treatment programs on a scale of 0 to 10 on the basis of whether or not the most critical components are present. Any program that gets a score of 7 or higher is probably good.

You should be able to get the answers from websites or program materials, or by asking a program director, counselor, or admissions person the following questions. Award one point for each positive response. Unknown, ambivalent, and negative responses all score zero.

Alcoholism as a primary disease:

Does written program material state that the staff believe that addictive illness is a primary disease?___

During the program is a patient required to complete a written life history? ___